A Major’s Thoughts
by Livy1213
Summary: The thoughts and actions of Major Lorne as he helps the Atlantis team on some of their adventures. Season 2. Lorne's POV.
1. Runner Part 1

**Title:** A Major's Thoughts  
**Author:** Livy1213  
**Rating:** K+  
**Warning:** Little bit of bad language

**Spoilers:** For this complete fic there will be everything in season two up to Coup D'état **Summary:** The thoughts and actions of Major Lorne as he helps the Atlantis team on some of their adventures.  
**A/N:** I originally thought of doing a fic like this for only Coup D'état but I love Lorne so much that I decided to do it for all his episodes. This chapter really only has spoilers from up to Runner. I'm using the popular fan name Marcus for Lorne's first name since he has yet to get a canon one.

**Disclaimer: **The bold parts of this fic are direct dialogue from the episodes of TPTB. It is not my own and I'm only borrowing the character since they aren't mine either. Please don't sue me!

**Runner**

"**You know**," said an annoyed Lorne, "**when they told me I'd be traveling to another galaxy, visiting strange new worlds, defending humanity against unimaginable alien threats, this just is _not_ what I pictured...**"

Major Marcus Lorne of the United States Air Force was tired; tired of Dr. Parrish, tired of plants, and tired of this dark planet that seemed to be nothing but forest. Why did the botanist have to find things here so damn interesting that he had to drag his security escort in every direction? Couldn't the good doctor just walk in a straight line, for Christ's sake, instead of zigzagging between every single "fascinating" flower that crossed his vision?

The Major thought Dr. Parrish was a nice guy but they had been tromping through this dark wood for over three hours. They were originally only supposed to collect a few samples to see if the place was worth another, more thorough, research visit. Lorne had been okay with them staying a little longer then planned. He'd been willing to let Parrish play a little more extensively to keep him happy but now he was regretting that decision.

"**We could be saving Earth – right here, right now, Major,**" Dr. Parrish piped up.

"**Oh yeah?**" Said Lorne as he scanned the woods for any signs of threat. "**How's that?**" he asked sarcastically.

Either Parrish didn't catch the snarkiness of Lorne's question or just ignored it. "**Through a greater understanding of the long-term effects of severe ozone depletion on plant life. You may not want to admit it, but it's a real danger.**" The botanist was staring, fascinated at what Lorne thought looked like an ordinary shrub.

"**Sure!**" said Lorne. "**Global warming. Wraith attack. I see the similarity now, you're right.**" Marcus rolled his eyes thinking of how mundane global warming sounded when they were in another galaxy fighting aliens that could suck the life out of you.

Not really paying attention in the least, Parrish started to wander off and Lorne's security training automatically kicked in.

"**Hey, not too far, Doc, okay?**" Lorne was worried at how easily they could get lost in this dark. Though he'd never admit it, the place was giving him the creeps the longer they stayed here.

"**Ah, not to worry, Major. I don't think there's much chance of any animal surviving the long-term effects of exposure to the sunlight on this planet.**"

"**So not a place to build a summer home?**" joked Lorne trying to quell his slight uneasiness.

"**It's the fact this vegetation is thriving!**" Though they had been here for three hours Parrish was just as enthusiastic as he had been when he'd first walked through the gate. "**Somehow it's managed to persist despite what should be extremely destructive ionizing radiation.**"

Lorne wasn't paying much attention to Botany 101. He was sure they were being watched.

"**Oh, would you look at that!**" exclaimed Parish. Instantly, Lorne had his P-90 coached and ready for anything. "**Now what is a Williamsonia suardiana doing here?**"

False alarm. Lorne lowered him weapon almost disappointed. He'd been in Pegasus for about a month and apart from the little excitement of imminent death by Wraith computer virus on the Daedalus, nothing at all interesting had happened on any of his missions. For some, this might be a good thing (no news being good news after all) but after being stuck on a mining outpost with too many Unas for too long Lorne was craving some real excitement. It was one of the reasons he had joined the security force in Atlantis.

He had been lucky to been chosen for the expedition when they were recruiting new personnel after the Siege. Though his experience with the SGC had been valuable many others had more years of SGC involvement under their belts. Everyone inside the SGC and out had wanted to go to Atlantis now that there were return trips. It had only been the unexpected discovery of his ATA gene that guaranteed him the job.

As Lorne glanced down to check his ammo clip, he spotted something on the ground. Was that some kind of blood? It looked almost black.

"**Major!**" yelled Parrish. Immediately, Lorne forgot what he was looking at and ran to Parrish's side. There it was: a dead Wraith. Even though this was the first time Marcus had even seen a Wraith, he was damn sure this was one. The white hair and green blue skin looked just like how the reports described them.

"**Doesn't look like the sun killed him.**" Marcus commented as he crouched down to get a better look.

This guy (at least he thought it had been a guy) was ugly, probably more so then usual with those nasty gashes in his torso and the dark red blood oozing from his side. Lorne was sure they were bullet holes. What was a dead Wraith with bullets wounds doing on this nowhere uninhabitable planet?

With what looked like a stunner just next to him, it seemed that the wraith might have been caught by surprised since there would have been more evidence of it using its weapon.

They had to get back to Atlantis as soon as possible to report this. Judging by the fact this corpse looked fresh with no signs of burning from this planet's hot sun, the killer could still be around. Lorne just hoped that whoever finished this guy off wouldn't cause them trouble.

"**What do we do?**" asked a flustered Parrish. Considering the shade of green the doc was turning you'd think the guy had never seen blood before.

Marcus didn't answer instead he activated his radio. "**Kaufman, this is Lorne – any activity?**"

"**No, sir.**" Came Lt. Kaufman's replay.

"**We got a dead sucker here – looks KIA, no more than a day old. We're on our way.**" The planet was still pretty dark so Lorne grabbed a bunch of glow sticks, cracked them, and dropped them by the body. He got up and started to leave.

"**C'mon, Doc, let's get you back to the gate.**" The sooner they get the civilian out of the way the better. There was some weird shit going on and they needed to get back.

"**I-I don't understand.**" Parrish stammered.

"**Well, neither do I. All I know is he didn't do that to himself. C'mon. Let's go.**"

As they headed back Lorne was in full combat mode, expecting anyone or anything to meet them on their retreat to the gate. He was on edge but it was situations like this that had him at his most calm. It looks like things in the Pegasus Galaxy just got a little more interesting for Marcus Lorne.

* * *

Once they had secured the corpse in a body bag, Lorne and Parrish left for Atlantis with the bagged wraith carried between them, leaving Reed and Kaufman to guard the gate and watch for any activity. If the guy who had killed that life sucker was still on the planet it would be better if he didn't go anywhere for the time being.

As soon as he cleared the gate Lorne left Parrish next to the Wraith package and walked up to the closest guard. "Where's Dr. Weir? I need to see her now."

"She's in her office having a meeting with Colonel Sheppard." He answered. "What's so urgent, sir, and, um, what's that?" He added pointing to the body bag probably a bit nervous that it might be one of Lorne's team.

"No casualties, Walker. And I'd love to fill you in on the details but I need to see Weir now. I'm sure Parrish would be happy to explain things. Just make sure that that package makes it to Beckett right away. Okay?"

Marcus didn't even wait for an answer as he started up the gateroom's stairs, two at a time. He didn't have the time and patience to give Walker the lowdown. He knew Walker was reliable and would do what he was ordered without question. Lorne currently had more important matters to take care of.

Currently, the best thing to do with the body was to get it to the infirmary, as there they might be able to preserve it or, hell, maybe even find some use for it.

When Lorne came to Weir's door, he knocked, even though he knew the two heads of Atlantis had seen him coming well in advance due to half of the walls in that wing being glass.

"Come in, Major Lorne." said Weir as she shuffled and put papers away in her desk.

It still amazed Marcus that, in the short time the new recruits from the Daedalus had been on Atlantis, Weir had gotten to know all their names even of those Lorne still didn't know himself. Back on Earth—no, more like back in the Milky Way, it had always taken his commanding offices more then a month to remember his name. Lorne always figured one had to work hard to the point where the CO would bother to know it. Weir was different. He wasn't sure yet if it was a good different, just… different.

"You seemed to be in a hurry Major. What's the big news?" asked Sheppard sitting in the chair in front of Weir's desk. He was still looking at his papers and marking them. "Can't see what could be so urgent about picking flowers." Sheppard smirked and looked up at Lorne as he put down the papers and got up.

Sheppard puzzled Lorne. How did a man with his record and such disregard for authority ever join the military, let alone become the head of it in Atlantis? Lorne may not have known Sheppard for very long but he had heard rumors about the incident in Afghanistan when the first Atlantis expedition left and even more about the circumstances of Colonel Sumner's demise when the SGC had received Atlantis' data transmission last year. Sumner was still a very touchy subject around the city.

"Sir," said Lorne ignoring the Lieutenant Colonel's trademark sarcasm. "We found a death Wraith. It looked KIA, probably a fresh kill. It couldn't have been dead for more then six hours. And, sir, I think the guy was shot with bullets… a lot of them."

Any humor in Sheppard's face vanished when the implications of what Lorne had said began to sink in.

"On your mission? What did you do with the body?" asked Weir urgently in what Lorne was getting to know as her command voice.

"Yes and it's currently in the infirmary, ma'am." Said Lorne.

Weir tapped her radio, "Carson?"

"Yes, Elizabeth," came the CMD's reply over the radio waves.

"I need you to start an autopsy on that corpse Lorne brought back as soon as possible. I want to know exactly how he died." She then quickly switched to the city com system, "All members of Sheppard's team please report to my office immediately." Turning off her radio and she looked at Lorne. "Do you think it's possible for who ever killed the Wraith to still be on that planet?"

Marcus was pretty damn sure of it. "I'd say it's likely."

"**Is the Gate covered?**" asked Sheppard.

"**Kaufman and Reed, yeah.**" Lorne was positive that if anything happened while he was gone those two would be able to handle it.

Right then Teyla walked in looking mildly curious as to why she'd been called in. Both Lorne and Sheppard quickly brought her up to date on the situation about the dead Wraith. She in turn suggested possible Genii involvement since, according to the reports Lorne spent his eighteen-day trip on the Daedalus reading, they were the only race the expedition had come in contact with who have similar weapons.

Some how Lorne personally doubted it. The Genii may have been smart about hiding their tech from the Wraith but he was sure that if it came down to facing an armed Wraith in a fight or flight scenario, the Genii, like all people in this galaxy, would pick flight.

Suddenly Beckett, whom Marcus thought was suppose to be doing an autopsy, came in with a strange look on his face. Weir asked him about the autopsy but he replied he was not even close to being finished.

After taking a deep breath Beckett continued, "**I thought you might like to know this. The enzyme sac under the right arm has been removed.**"

The answer finally struck.

"**Ford!**" Sheppard exclaimed, voicing what we were all thinking.

Everyone, including the newbies, on Atlantis knew about Sheppard's guilt over one Lieutenant Ford. Even after weeks, it had still been the talk of the city when Lorne had come in from the Daedalus. There was defiantly going to be a retrieval mission.

Quite soon after this revelation, the pain in the ass of Atlantis known as Dr. McKay came in. It had taken him long enough to get there. And once again, both Sheppard and Weir brought the new comer up to speed about the Wraith, Ford and the future search mission.

Mission in ten minutes? Lorne was okay with that, though maybe not with the part about McKay coming. The guy was complaining about getting a little sunburn!

_Well_, thought Lorne as he exited Weir's office to pick up some more ammo. _Might as well look on the bright side, during this mission I won't have to play the glorified babysitter. I just sure as hell hope I don't get stuck with McKay. _

* * *

Ten minutes later all of them, along with a couple more men, reported in the jumper bay even the ever-complaining Doc McKay.

"Okay, people, its time to go." Sheppard said as he started up the Jumper and flew through the floor of the Bay.

The Jumpers were truly amazing. They looked like they should be dead weight in the air but they flew better then the finest Air Force jets. Lorne had gotten a few lessons with them, and had really gotten the hang of the part mental part physical control aspect of flying them.

All who had the gene, either naturally or not, went required to learn how to fly the puddle jumpers. Many of the scientists had hated it but Marcus found it thrilling. It brought him back to his old days as a Lieutenant before being recruited for the SGC when he used to fly for the Air Force.

The flight to the planet was short. As soon as they were through the Stargate Sheppard landed and brought up the hub. The display was almost too bright to look at.

"**Lifesigns detector's useless,**" said Sheppard. He shut it down figuring he should have known it wasn't going to be that easy.

"**I told you so.**" Came McKay's voice from the far end of the Jumper.

"**Continuing your streak of being right, officially?**" commented Sheppard casually falling into the usual friendly banter they did so often. Lorne didn't want to get involved so he exited as soon as the door was open.

"**Any activity while we were gone?**" Lorne asked Reed as he joined him and Kaufman.

"**No, sir.**"

Sheppard emerged from the Jumper right behind Lorne and started to direct orders for the search. Where was that smell coming from? Was that cocoa? Sunscreen?

It looked like McKay was taking this whole sun thing a little too seriously. Even when Marcus told him what Dr. Parrish said about a day or two of exposure not being enough to kill them, he just disregarded it as unreliable since Parrish was "just" a botanist. Can't the guy learn to trust people? McKay wasn't the only genius on Atlantis.

Sheppard just ignored the physicist and started to pair everyone up into search teams. "**Teyla, you're with me; Kaufman, take Villick; Reed: you and Sherman cover the Gate; and Major,**" with a bit of mischief in his eyes, he pointed at Lorne.

_Oh no_, thought Lorne.

"**You've got McKay.**"

_Shit_.

"**Lucky me.**" Lorne muttered hitting his P-90 a little harder then he'd meant to. Sheppard left the Jumper with that smirk on his face Lorne was starting to know all too well.

"**Here,**" McKay offered, showing Lorne the homemade sunscreen. "**Try some—SPF 100.**"

"**A hundred?**" Lorne asked looking at the physicist in disbelief.

"**Yeah, can't buy this kind of protection. Made it myself. Waterproof too.**" Obviously, McKay hadn't picked up on Lorne's tone.

"**Great…**" Marcus didn't know what he'd done to deserve this. It was going to be a long mission.

TBC…

* * *

**A/N:** I hope you all like it! Please R&R anything from flames to compliments are welcome! If anyone was wondering, the bold parts of the text are direct quotes from the episode. I don't much like the title of the fic so I'm open to suggestions! 


	2. Runner Part 2

**A/N**: CMDragonia- You're right, it would be better to make him have the ATA gene naturally, that would make Coup D'etat all the more angsty. : )

Krows Scared- I don't exactly know what you mean by 'canteen' but I'm happy you appreciate the humor. Enjoy this new chapter. :p

Thank you all for reviewing. They are what keep me going.

**Runner Part 2**

After they'd been walking in silence for about five minutes, McKay must have decided the Major wasn't interested in his sunscreen so tried to make conversation.

"**So exactly what kind of, uh, special training do you guys have to go through to get this sort of mission?**"

"'**You guys'?**" asked Marcus wondering where McKay was going with this. He'd known the silence had been to good to last.

"**Yeah, you know – Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines – it's a great place to start!**"

"**And by 'this mission,'**" continued Lorne. "**You mean hunting down a skilled weapons expert hopped up on Wraith drugs in the pitch black of an alien planet?**"

"**Yes!**" McKay said thinking he had finally gotten through to the Major not realizing every word had been dripping with snark.

Lorne couldn't believe how clueless the scientist was. Isn't the man supposed to be the foremost expert on the Stargate; the genius that everyone turned to? McKay was a more arrogant and obnoxious version of Parrish. "**Actually, I skipped that course in military school.**"

"**Yeah, I was afraid of that.**"

_Geeze_, thought Lorne _I'm not useless, McKay. Besides, I'm not really expecting a fight. _

"**I was hoping Lieutenant Ford might recognize a friendly face and just turn himself in**," said Lorne brushing off McKay's barb.

"**What, you mean me**" Whom else did he think Marcus meant? From what he'd heard around Atlantis, the flagship team, along with Weir, had been close, before the whole mess with Ford and the enzyme.

"**Well, you were friends, weren't you?**" McKay seemed to disagree with that assumption.

_Oh boy, there he goes on one of his rants again._ Lorne just tuned it out keeping watch.

Suddenly, something moved in the corner of his eye and Marcus automatically crouched and hidd behind a log holding up his fist to stop McKay from giving away their position, if he hadn't already.

"**What--**," McKay whispered tensely, "**that means quiet, right?**"

Lorne just rolled his eyes. _Civilians_.

"**Yeah -- get down, get down!**" the Major whispered harshly in response. The physicist didn't seem to understand what Marcus was saying so Lorne grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and dragged him behind the fallen tree. There, looking at where he saw the movement, Marcus quickly turned off the flashlight on his P-90 to conceal his position from the enemy. Well, Ford might not really be an enemy but he was still a wild card.

"**What?**" asked McKay pointing his flashlight on the spot that Lorne was looking.

"**I thought I saw something move.**"

Parrish had said no animal could survive long term on this planet. That movement had to have been Ford.

Lorne looked at McKay waiting for him to do something to get Ford into the open.

"**What?**"

"**_Say_ something!**"

"**Well, what?**"

_Oh, for the love of—_"**Talk to him!**"

"**What if it's not him?**" _Okay, now he's just trying to make excuses._ Impatiently, Lorne grabbed McKay and roughly hauled him to his feet. McKay got the message and tentatively took a step forward.

"**Ford? You there? It's your ... best friend Rodney, Rodney McKay.**" Lorne realized then that this was a bad idea. McKay did not sound at all like a reassuring friend, more like a man scared shitless. Not good. "**Everyone misses you back in Atlantis, and Doctor Beckett's figured out a way to help you, so you've just gotta trust me and..."**

Then all of a sudden, some distance away, something broke cover and started off at a top speed. It was moving incredibly fast. Without another thought, Lorne chased after it, not waiting to see if McKay was keeping up.

Running flat out, Marcus quickly tapped his radio. "**Colonel Sheppard, it's Major Lorne. We are in pursuit of suspect.**"

"**Wha--?**" came Sheppard's reply difficult to understand with static. "**So are we. Wher-- you?**"

Could they be chasing Sheppard and Teyla by mistake? The Colonel had made sure they had all gone in opposite directions when they had left the Puddle Jumper.

"**We're two clicks south of the Stargate.**" Marcus responded hearing McKay's desperate gasps behind him as he ran. "**Where are you?**"

The guy was running too fast, even if he didn't have McKay slowing him down Lorne would never be able to catch up. Was the thing they were chasing even human? Lorne came to a stop. It was useless, the guy had just disappeared into the distance.

"**What is it?**" McKay wheezed clutching his side.

_He needs to work out more. _Was Lorne's immediate thought.

"**Lost him.**" Remembering his CO, Marcus activated his radio. "**Colonel Sheppard?**"

"**---by. T--la's been --it.**" Lorne could hardly made out the Colonel's voice. But it sounded like Teyla had been hit, but by what?

"**Colonel Sheppard, say again. What's your position?**" No response. Never good. "**Colonel Sheppard, please respond.**" Maybe it was the interference. Something about the ionization or whatever Parrish had been talking about messing with the radios. "**Colonel Sheppard, come in please. Colonel Sheppard!**" Still no response.

It looked as though they were probably dealing with another hostile apart from Ford. Sheppard and Teyla had been chasing someone and that someone must of taken them out. They needed to get back. Like it or not, they were going to need reinforcements for this one.

* * *

By the time they had made it back to the Jumper and explained the situation to the rest of the men, the sun had come up. The orangish glow that was revealed as the planet's atmosphere was a little unsettling. It was just one more thing about this planet that Lorne hated.

Not at all liking how thick the air was getting, he gingerly dialed Atlantis to establish communications.

"This is Weir. Major Lorne, what's your status?"

"I'm sorry to tell you this, ma'am, but both Colonel Sheppard and Teyla have gone missing. **We haven't heard from them since 26:30 Atlantis Standard Time.**" _Might as well cut to the chase._

"**I know the life-signs detector doesn't work there, Major, but can you use the Jumper to search from the air?**"

With the miles of forest it was pointless. "**No, ma'am, the foliage is far too dense for that.**"

There was a short silence over the line.

Finally, "**I'll send another team to assist.**"

_This might take more then just one extra team._ "**Well, anyone you could spare would be great.**"

Just then McKay came into the front compartment of the Jumper.

"**Anything else you need?**"

"**Elizabeth, it's Rodney. Yes, hi. There are four Class One radiation suits in med lab storage. We'll need them all.**"

Does McKay seriously think that we're all going to wear those suits?

When he saw the look Lorne was giving him... "**What? Look, I know there's not enough for us all, but we can take turns.**" Once again the great genius of Atlantis was missing the obvious.

"**Any sign of Lieutenant Ford yet?**" asked Weir.

Well technically they hadn't really seen anyone just a lot of movement. "**Uh, no, ma'am, nothing that we can confirm. Fact is, we don't even know if this is Lieutenant Ford we're dealing with.**"

"Alright. You will get your supplies and reinforcement in a half hour. Sit tight. Weir out." And the wormhole disintegrated.

* * *

As Weir promised, half an hour later, on the dot, the team of reinforcements came through along with those damn Hazmat suits. McKay quickly grabbed one and put it on. Lorne thought about trying to argue with him but decided it wasn't worth it. Might prove to be entertaining when the scientist learned the discomforts of wearing Hazmat while hiking.

"**OK, listen up,**" called Lorne to the new men. "**I want regular radio contact. Report anything unusual -- and I'm talking _anything_ unusual at all. Alright, move out.**" It was time to start this retrieval turned rescue mission. The marines paired up and started to slowly dispersed.

"**Hey, wait,**" said McKay, "**aren't any of them gonna, uh...**" he waved his suit uselessly at the disappearing men. "**Forget it. That's just reckless! There are four suits.**"

"**Not exactly designed for moving through dense brush and rough terrain, not to mention possible combat, huh?**" said Lorne thinking he was pointing out the obvious. He picked up his bag to see if they had what they needed.

Lorne could've easily burdened someone else with McKay now that he was the highest-ranking officer on the mission but Marcus thought if he could survive the good doctor he could survive anything.

McKay was in the middle of another one of his rants. Something about his current radiation dosage and Lorne was again tuning him out. He only just caught the last part.

"…**As it is, I may have to forego reproducing.**"

With a line like that Lorne couldn't help but take a shot. "**Yeah, that's funny -- I was just thinkin' that might be wise.**" And with that said Marcus casually walked done the ramp and into the woods. McKay hastily put on his helmet and ran to catch up.

TBC…


	3. Runner Part 3

**A/N:** I'm so glad you all enjoy the story. I'd like to thank Easier Lily for betaing and the Lorne Lovers from Gateworld forum for beig so supportive. I love you guys! I've been sitting on this chapter for some time because I wasn't quite happy with how I initially wrote it. I'm not sure if I'm satisfied even now. But still, enjoy this new chapter and continue to R&R!

Don't worry Julie. Coup D'etat will come up. I'm doing all of Lorne's episodes in his POV and since Coup was his last ep that will be the last chapter of fic. I just preemptively put a spoiler warning on when I first started the story but it's taken me longer then I thought to write each chapter.

**Runner, Part 3**

"**Colonel Sheppard? Teyla? This is Major Lorne, do you read?**" Marcus still hadn't given up trying to make contact with the missing team members on the radio. Chances are if it weren't Ford who was holding them, their captor wouldn't know what the radios were. At the very least they might hear him and know they were being searched for.

McKay had started panting almost as soon as they'd headed out and he was getting worse by the minute. Wearing a Hazmat suit was hot and stuffy at the best of times. Marcus only knew too well. One time at the SGC, he had been forced to wear one for days because some alien flu' had been brought through the gate. By the time quarantine was lifted, Lorne would have rather have had that flu' then ever wear one of those damn things again. Considering his own experience, Lorne might have felt some sympathy for McKay if he hadn't of known the man had willingly chosen to ignore his warnings about hiking while wearing rubber.

"**It's so hot!**" gasped McKay through the fogged up plastic shield. The physicist was moving more and more slowly. Almost half blind because of the fogged headpiece, he was hardly walking in a straight line.

Lorne was getting pretty fed up by now. "**Oh, come on -- step it up, wouldya?**" McKay was becoming more than an inconvenience; he was starting to hinder the rescue op. They needed to cover as much ground as possible before they reported back to Weir.

"**I am moving as fast as I can." **_Sure you are, you lazy civilian._** "I'm very hot.**" _Wonder why_. "**Aren't you hot?**" His panting was getting desperate now.

"**Actually, I'm quite comfortable -- but I'm not wearing a fifty pound rubber suit, am I?**" It was Lorne's way of saying 'I told you so' but McKay wasn't listening.

If the scientist had been one of his own men, Lorne would have just order him to take the suit off but with him being a civilian and being well… McKay… ordering him to do anything might just have the opposite effect.

"**I can't breathe! I-- gotta stop.**" Lorne kept on walking as McKay came to a halt and ripped off his helmet, breathing the fresh air in deep. "**Sweet relief! I think the, uh, the fumes from the sun block are making me dizzy. I gotta ... I gotta ... just, uh, rest here.**" He did look a bit nauseous.

Lorne threw him a mixed look of disgust and annoyance as McKay sat-- or more like collapsed where he was, breathing hard. The Major couldn't understand how this guy had been going on off world missions for a year. How had McKay survived? For that matter, how had Sheppard survived McKay?

"**Unbelievable!**" Marcus muttered as he turned away. Lorne didn't want the head scientist of Atlantis to pass out on his watch so he relented and decided to give McKay his break. But the guy had been winded after walking for ten minutes! Even with the suit Lorne thought that was pretty pathetic.

Being in no need of a break himself, Marcus decided to scout up ahead. It might be a completely useless endeavor but at least he could get away from McKay for a while.

* * *

Having not spotted anything of great importance, Lorne soon returned. "**Okay, you've had your fresh air. C'mon, let's go.**" He felt they had already wasted enough of the little time they had. Weir was expecting results from this mission and if they returned with nothing to show for their trouble it was going to be Lorne's hide. Failure was not the impression he wanted to make on his first assignment.

"**Well, shouldn't we be heading back?" **asked McKay. He was looking pretty hopeful about returning. **"I mean, it must have been half an hour.**"

_What the hell was he talking about?_ Trying not to snap, Lorne quietly answered, "**It's been fifteen minutes.**"

"**Oh, really? I thought...**" Quickly looked at his watch he realized his mistake. "**Oh, it felt longer.**" He started to get up, but had trouble since he was still wearing the suit. Lorne coldly made no attempt to help.

The Major had just about reached the end of his tether with the physicist. If they didn't make some kind of progress soon he didn't trust himself not to hurt McKay.

"**Wow--,**" said Marcus trying to shake the urge to do something he was sure he'd regret later. "**You must really be some kind of genius!**"

Thinking at first that Lorne was complimenting his ego, McKay responded in his usual clueless fashion. "**Well, as a matter of fact, I, um...**" Realization finally dawned on his face, "**Wait a minute. See, why would you say that now?**"

_Good question_. "**_Something_ has to have kept Colonel Sheppard from shooting you all this time!**" The Major was fighting the urge himself.

McKay retorted, "**Yeah, yeah, like I didn't see that one coming, huh?**"

Lorne didn't see the blast coming. It had just come out of nowhere without any warning. When it hit him, Lorne felt as if all the nerves in his body just froze, going absolutely rigid. He was completely paralyzed and helpless. As he felt himself falling to the ground, everything went black.

* * *

When Marcus finally came to and opened his eyes, he found himself looking up at trees. Everything was quiet except for the faint whistling of wind through the branches.

Confused, Lorne thought back to the last thing he could remember. He had been gleefully irritating McKay about how annoying the doc was and Marcus must of gotten distracted because then… Oh God, he had been shot by something and where was McKay? Lorne tried to get up but he couldn't move, not even his fingers would respond to his commands.

Few things in two galaxies scare Marcus Lorne but the combination of this paralysis with unknown origin and not having an inkling of what was going on absolutely filled him with dread. What had caused this paralysis? Was it temporary or… permanent? Lorne was trying very hard not to panic. Again he tried to move his legs, arms, anything but nothing happened. He was horrified at the prospect of never walking again and not only that but if he was never found he'd die here. Though Lorne wasn't afraid to die, he had always envisioned going out in a blaze of glory or at least old age, death by dehydration and starvation had not been his top choice.

_Okay Marcus, you need to calm down, got it soldier? You'll be no good to anyone if you don't pull yourself together._

Lorne fought an inner battle to stay composed and finally his breathing became steady again.

_Good. Now think. What do you know of that causes paralysis like this?_

_Wraith stunners._ That had to be the only explanation and from what he'd read their effects were very temporary and varied from person to person. Hell, Colonel Sheppard alone has been shot over a dozen times and nothing seriously permanent has happened to him.

Lorne would have smiled in relief if he could have moved. He was already feeling the signature pins and needles of the stunner; Lorne knew he was going to be all right. Now he was sure he'd regain movement eventually. But how long that would be, he had no idea.

In the mean time, Lorne pondered about his situation. Though he had been shot by one of their stunners, he couldn't have been shot by a Wraith. Apart from the fact that he wasn't waking up in a hive ship or worse, Reed and Sherman would have warned him and McKay if the Wraith had come through the gate.

Lorne could have kicked himself for letting McKay get to him like that. Marcus had let himself get distracted enough to let down his guard resulting in another mess to finish off this screwy day on this God forsaken planet. He was lucky that who ever shot him hadn't decide to finish the job.

Again Lorne tried to move his head. From what he could see and hear from the position he'd fallen in, there didn't seem to be anyone else here but him. It was possible McKay had also been hit and was just lying outside Lorne's vision but Lorne didn't know for certain. He was just going to have to wait until he would be able to take a look around.

Time passed and Marcus wasn't sure how long he had been lying there. But he was starting to feel his legs as the pins and needles intensified. That was good. Finally managing to roll over onto his hands, he got to his feet with the support of a near by tree.

_Well_, he thought, _working in the Pegasus galaxy, I was going to get hit by one of those things sooner or later. It was just sooner instead of later._

He felt very sluggish, exhausted, and still didn't have all the feeling in his body back. If he wasn't careful he just might collapse again. His feet felt like they had been injected with Novocain, feeling like they were twice their actual size. According to his watch he had been unconscious and paralyzed for about forty minutes. That surprised him because it had seemed a lot longer then that.

Looking around, Lorne realized that McKay was nowhere to be seen and Marcus didn't have the slightest idea where he could be. This was not good. Weir was not going to like the fact her entire flagship team was now MIA. Lorne just hoped that she was as understanding as so many of the expedition members had claimed.

The Major had to get back to contact Atlantis and figure out what to do next. But he was really not ready for travel let alone walking. He was going to need help if he wanted to report back to the jumper.

Realizing his radio was off Lorne activated it. "This is Major Lorne. I was hit with a stunner. I'm in of need assistance."

"Major," Kaufman's voice came over. "We had received a mayday from Dr McKay a while ago and have been trying to contact you since. Are you alright, sir?"

"Yeah, I'm fine I just can't move much so I'm gonna need some help. Since McKay's now missing and we need to report back to Atlantis."

"McKay missing, sir?"

Lorne firmly replied, "Affirmative. I'm going to need your help to get back. I'm about a click and a half due south of the gate."

"We're on our way, sir."

"Take your time, Lieutenant." Lorne said then deactivated the radio. Sliding down the side of the tree trunk Marcus sat on the ground closing his eyes, exhausted. "It's not like I'm going anywhere."

TBC…

* * *

**A/N:** Last part of Runner is coming up and Duet will probably only one chapter after that. Please, please, please review! I'll be your friend if you do. :) 


	4. Runner Part 4

**A/N:** Yeah, I know. It's been four months. I feel really bad about it. I swear I will get to at least Conversion before I go to college in the fall. These all have taken much longer to write then I thought they would. But hey, Runner is finished and Duet will be up soon! Coup will probably be the most difficult to write since I will have to do a lot of speculation about what happened to Lorne but it will be fun and I love whumping.

**Runner, Part 4**

A short time later, Lorne could clearly hear someone coming down the path. Not being too eager to get shot again, he pulled his 9 mil out of his holster, and dragged himself behind some cover, readying his aim. For some reason the ammo clip to his P-90 was missing.

The sound was getting closer. His finger hugged the trigger; he questioned if he wasn't being overly paranoid but in a new galaxy you could never be too careful. Finally, what was making all the noise cleared the trees and Lorne recognized Sergeant Reed struggling to get through the thick undergrowth. He allowed himself a little chuckle. Lowering his weapon, Lorne wondered if they ever covered stealth in Reed's marine training.

Reed soon spotted him behind the tree and made even more noise in his haste to get to the Major. Lorne tried to stand to meet him but he was still struggling to get feeling back in his legs.

"Sir," greeted Reed obviously relieved to see Lorne. "We've been looking for you and Dr. McKay for over a half hour." Then he noticed Lorne was still sitting on the ground. "Are you all right, sir?"

"I'm fine," said Lorne feeling a bit like jello again. "I just took a hit from one of those wraith guns."

"Heard those things are a really bitch." Reed said almost cheerfully. "Total paralysis, you can't move an inch. They've said it's so the Wraith can feed on people without resistance… Pretty interesting stuff really." While expressing this pleasant thought, Reed offered Lorne a hand that Marcus gratefully took. As he got up his head started to swim but he stood his ground. The thick air of this planet was really starting to get to him. "I'm glad to see you're okay, sir, if not a little groggy maybe."

"Yeah," said Lorne while he steadying himself with the tree. Marcus hated to show weakness especially in front of one of his subordinates. "I'll shake it off eventually. Right now I need you to fill me in on how we're doin' with finding Teyla and Colonel Sheppard."

"Nothing yet, sir. It's a big planet. They could easily be anywhere, Ford—"

"We don't know for sure if it's Lieutenant Ford, Sergeant." Interrupted Lorne steadying himself with his trusty tree, "We could be dealing with someone completely different so we shouldn't jump to conclusions."

Reed responded with his usual "Yes, sir." But Lorne was sure the marine still thought Ford was the only one other then the Atlantis crew on the planet. Lorne himself wasn't quite sure but there had been too many strange occurrences today that were indicating they were dealing with more then one hostile.

"We'll update the other teams on the situation and let 'em continue searching. No point in calling them all back. Nothing much has changed only that McKay is now missing."

"Sir," said Reed tentatively.

"Yes, Sergeant?"

"Well, sir, you can hardly walk." Reed had always been direct even with his commanding officers. Sometimes it was liberating, other times it was down right annoying. "I think it probably would be better if you get yourself checked out. Just as a precaution."

Lorne knew he was right. He wasn't going to be much good to anyone until he'd regained all his feeling and was at least able to walk properly. The Major just nodded and started to limp towards the direction of the jumper. Reed rushed over and allowed Lorne lean on him for support. Together, with Lorne feeling completely useless, they headed back to the gate.

* * *

Though he was still a bit groggy, Lorne felt much better and more confident by the time they got to the jumper. He could almost walk properly. Kaufman was waiting and came out to meet them.

"It's good to see that you're alright, Major. We were a little worried when we lost radio contact after McKay's mayday. What exactly happened?"

Reed made his way to the front of the jumper to keep watch from the window. Lorne sat in one of the back seats and Kaufman started to check him out using one of those damn penlights.

"Well, I can't really remember much…" Lorne didn't get much farther then that when Reed abruptly got up from his position in the front.

With a swift "**Major**" to call for Lorne's attention, Reed walked out the back to meet someone.

"**Where's Lorne?**" Came Colonel Sheppard's unmistakable drawl.

Marcus blinked. Sheppard here? Had one of the teams found him? Well, it didn't matter. They just might have finally caught a break today.

"**He's inside, sir,**" was the lieutenant's neutral response like COs who were suppose to be missing for over three hours just appeared out of thin air everyday.

As Lorne was uneasily getting up to meet the Colonel, Sheppard ran in.

"**What happened to you?**" he asked glancing at Lorne and passing him to get to the pilot's seat. For some reason, the colonel seemed to be in quite a hurry.

Rubbing his eyes, Lorne responded, "**I got hit by a Wraith blaster looking for you. Now McKay's missing.**" _But don't worry I'll be fine._

"**Great!**" came his fed up frustrated reply.

_Where has he been for the last few hours?_

"**What about Teyla?**" Asked a puzzled Lorne wondering why the two weren't together.

"**Long story. You can listen to it while I tell Doctor Weir,**" responded Sheppard who was already half way through dialing the gate to Lorne's bewilderment.

_This should be interesting._

* * *

Back on Atlantis in Weir's office Sheppard, with Lorne present, brought Weir up to speed on the current situation.

"So you're telling me," said Weir rubbing her temple with the fingers of her right hand like she had a headache, "That in all this time you've been missing both you and Teyla were being held hostage by this man named Ronan Dex? And that he is currently using Teyla as leverage against us to help him remove this tracking device that the Wraith have implanted in he back in order for them to hunt him for sport."

"That about sums it up, yeah," said Sheppard sounding like stuff like this happened everyday. "Oh, and the Wrath could arrive on the planet at any minute since they've been tracking him for seven years. We're going to need to act fast and soon."

Lorne was sure he heard a slight groan from Weir. "Fine, you have an okay." She said leaning on her desk and resolutely lifting her head to look at both soldiers. "But I want you, Sheppard, on high ground out of sight able to take him down if he shows any inclinations to hurt either Beckett or Teyla, got it?"

Sheppard and Lorne both nodded in silent agreement. Weir may be a civilian but she wasn't one to be crossed.

"In the mean time, I want the other teams to continue searching for Rodney and Aiden. They are still out there and considering how unstable Ford's condition was the last time we saw him, McKay might be in some real danger." Straightening up she turned to Marcus. "I want you, Major, to lead those guarding the gate. If you see any gate activity at all cloak the jumper and stay out of sight; it will most likely be the Wraith coming through. Now, only Carson needs to be informed." Tapping her earpiece she called for Beckett.

While Weir headed off to the infirmary talking to Beckett at the same time, Sheppard turned to Lorne dismissing him.

Starting back to the jumper bay Lorne thought over everything and wasn't quite sure what to make of the whole situation with this guy Dex. Though Lorne admired the fact that he had been able to thwart the Wraith for seven years while being tracked and pitied him for having to live a life like that; the man was probably extremely dangerous and smart. Marcus just hoped Atlantis wasn't goingtounderestimate him.

* * *

Back on the planet after Sheppard and a sulky Dr. Beckett left to meet up with Dex; Lorne, Kaufman, and Reed were left to watch the gate. It was boring work but considering all the excitement of the past 12 hours Lorne was happy to take a brake. He and Kaufman kept watch outside while Reed stayed in the jumper.

After a couple hours with no activity, an all too familiar sound broke the quiet air follow soon after by a single gunshot.

"What was that?" whispered Kaufman concerned.

"Oh-no." Frantically, Lorne activated his radio, "Davis? Mells? Report. Are you guys alright?"

No reply. Damnit, Ford must have gotten to them. Lorne was already almost out of the clearing, heading off to find Davis and Mells when he heard Kaufman's shout.

"**Sir! We got Gate activity over here!**"

Perfect timing thought Lorne bitterly as he headed back to Kaufman.

"**Cloak the Jumper, now!**" he yelled at Reed. As the jumper disappeared into thin air, Lorne joined the Sergeant behind a large bush and aimed his P-90 at the still spinning gate. Into his radio he reported, "**Colonel Sheppard, we've got gate activity.**"

Suddenly the gate exploded into life with the shimmering pool taking form. Three Wraith darts soon came through only just missed colliding with the surrounding trees.

"**Three Wraith darts just came through.** They're headed your way, Colonel."

Lorne could just make out the muffled "**Great**" from the Colonel before the static over took the signal.

* * *

Soon there after, the Wraith must have thought they got what they were looking for because they dialed and left through the gate. After the danger had pasted Lorne sent Kaufman and Reed to go look for Davis and Mells who were probably-- hopefully-- laying unconscious somewhere. Dr. Beckett and Teyla soon arrived looking unhurt but a little shaken. Lorne had already contacted the other search teams plus Sheppard to make sure none of them had been taken by the Wraith. Sheppard seemed very subdued when Lorne contacted him.

"Sir, are you alight?"

"I found McKay, and Ronan has agreed to come back with us now that the tracking device has been destroyed."

"Is that a good idea, sir? The guy held you and Teyla hostage just hours ago plus considering our certain… situation at base wouldn't there be a danger of him compromising us."

"Major," Sheppard sounded very tired and worn out. "He hates the Wraith more then we do. Knowing his background how can you even think he'd work with them. We'll keep a two guard escort on him at all times but I think he can be very useful with all his… experiences."

The Colonel did have a point. "Understood, sir. Did you locate Lt. Ford?"

There was silence over the radio for a beat then the Colonel responded, "No, I didn't. He sort of… escaped. He's no longer on the planet."

"But the only way he could have gotten off, pasted us, was…" _Oh-no._

"We'll talk about it at the debriefing. Meet you at the jumper in ten. Sheppard out." The radio went dead.

So Ford had been taken by the Wraith. They must've thought he was Dex. Usually, being beamed into one of those darts meant certain torture and death. Ford was now in enemy hands. This was not good at all. This mission started out being about Ford now they've ended up with one wild man and two unconscious marines and they had no Ford to show for it. Colonel Caldwell was defiantly not going to be happy.

* * *

**A/N:** So there you go. Runner is now completely! Please read and review. Can't wait for season 3. It looks as if Lorne with be in at least two episodes. I hope I get far enough to finish season 2 and can go on to write stories for season 3. 


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